"The order has not prevented war. In fact, democratic states are some of the most belligerent in the international order. However, it has prevented war among the strong and prosperous states that opt in to the order, and it has so far deterred wars against them by powerful non-liberal states."
- Kori Schake

The initial planning for the Iraq war estimated that we'd only have 5,000 American troops there by this point. Note that the plans are made through PowerPoint slides. There are serious academics who have written critically about PowerPoint's effects on people's thinking.